2008 Woodie Awards
Tars Continue to Roll Through the Conference Schedule
Juan Bernal
Issue date: 2/10/06 Section: Sports
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The Rollins College Men's Basketball team continued their impressive run through the Sunshine State Conference this week, with road wins over St. Leo and Eckerd. The Tars, who were picked to finish seventh in the conference at the beginning of the season, are now tied for first place with the Lynn Fighting Knights, who were picked to win the conference.
On Wednesday February 1st, the Tars traveled to St. Leo, Florida to face the Lions of St. Leo. The Tars went into the game looking for the sixth straight victory. The Tars never really seemed to get off to a good start against the undermanned Lions, who were missing their leading scorer and best player, Scott Seifert, and only played eight players. But the Tars' first half was filled with misfortune, as they struggled to run the offense and had a few lapses on the defensive end. Despite those errors, the Tars were up 10 going into the halftime locker room, 33-23. In the second half, the Tars came out firing. They used a 29-9 run to open the second half to go up 30 with 8 minutes to go, and the Lions would never seriously threaten. The Tars would cruise the rest of the way to a 76-49 victory. The Tars were led by Johnny Reibel with 14 points and 4 assists. Kevin Hogan and Deon Troupe each contributed 11 points. The Tars shot 47% for the game and outrebounded the Lions 38-35.
After Wednesday's debacle of St. Leo, the Tars would face a slightly tougher test in the Eckerd Tritons. The Tritons manhandled the Tars 66-55 in their first meeting, and Coach Tom Klusman stressed two main points were the key to victory: rebounding and toughness. Eckerd came into the game with a 5-3 conference record.
Both teams started out cold, and the game appeared to be a defensive battle right from the get-go. Both teams struggled to hit shots and played very sloppy on the offensive end. In the first half the teams combined for 19 fouls and 24 turnovers. The Tars held the Tritons to 34% and they shot 39%. The score going into the halftime locker room was tied at 22. The Tars also had the upper hand on the glass, 16-14. It was clearly the lowest scoring total that the Tars had this year. The second half was even more of a physical battle. The teams traded baskets for the first ten minutes of the half, but the Tritons took a five point lead after a three point basket by Damone Morris. The Tars responded on a 7-0 run and took a 40-38 lead with 6 minutes to go. The next three minutes went by with the teams trading baskets, and no team being able to gain an advantage. With the score tied at 48, Deon Troupe went on a personal five point run and put the Tars up 5 with two minutes left. The Tars made just enough free throws and the Tritons, who couldn't throw a beach ball in an ocean for most of the game, struggled to hit shots down the stretch. The Tars had marched into St. Petersburg and pulled out their biggest victory of the year, 60-55. The Tars overcame a season high 23 turnovers and a 48% performance from the free throw line to beat the conference's most physical team. St. Petersburg native Deon Troupe led the Tars with 22 points. Chauncey Gibbs added 6 rebounds, and the Tars improved their record to 16-5 overall and 9-2 in the conference.
"Both games were a really good team effort and we work really hard on offense and defense. We took care of both teams on the defensive end and we let our offense come to us," said freshman Greg Sweeney of the Tars effort. The Tars step travel to Lynn on Saturday for a huge conference matchup on Saturday. The winner of that matchup will get top honors in the top conference. The Tars will return to the confines of the Alfond Sports Center on February 15th to face conference rival Tampa.
On Wednesday February 1st, the Tars traveled to St. Leo, Florida to face the Lions of St. Leo. The Tars went into the game looking for the sixth straight victory. The Tars never really seemed to get off to a good start against the undermanned Lions, who were missing their leading scorer and best player, Scott Seifert, and only played eight players. But the Tars' first half was filled with misfortune, as they struggled to run the offense and had a few lapses on the defensive end. Despite those errors, the Tars were up 10 going into the halftime locker room, 33-23. In the second half, the Tars came out firing. They used a 29-9 run to open the second half to go up 30 with 8 minutes to go, and the Lions would never seriously threaten. The Tars would cruise the rest of the way to a 76-49 victory. The Tars were led by Johnny Reibel with 14 points and 4 assists. Kevin Hogan and Deon Troupe each contributed 11 points. The Tars shot 47% for the game and outrebounded the Lions 38-35.
After Wednesday's debacle of St. Leo, the Tars would face a slightly tougher test in the Eckerd Tritons. The Tritons manhandled the Tars 66-55 in their first meeting, and Coach Tom Klusman stressed two main points were the key to victory: rebounding and toughness. Eckerd came into the game with a 5-3 conference record.
Both teams started out cold, and the game appeared to be a defensive battle right from the get-go. Both teams struggled to hit shots and played very sloppy on the offensive end. In the first half the teams combined for 19 fouls and 24 turnovers. The Tars held the Tritons to 34% and they shot 39%. The score going into the halftime locker room was tied at 22. The Tars also had the upper hand on the glass, 16-14. It was clearly the lowest scoring total that the Tars had this year. The second half was even more of a physical battle. The teams traded baskets for the first ten minutes of the half, but the Tritons took a five point lead after a three point basket by Damone Morris. The Tars responded on a 7-0 run and took a 40-38 lead with 6 minutes to go. The next three minutes went by with the teams trading baskets, and no team being able to gain an advantage. With the score tied at 48, Deon Troupe went on a personal five point run and put the Tars up 5 with two minutes left. The Tars made just enough free throws and the Tritons, who couldn't throw a beach ball in an ocean for most of the game, struggled to hit shots down the stretch. The Tars had marched into St. Petersburg and pulled out their biggest victory of the year, 60-55. The Tars overcame a season high 23 turnovers and a 48% performance from the free throw line to beat the conference's most physical team. St. Petersburg native Deon Troupe led the Tars with 22 points. Chauncey Gibbs added 6 rebounds, and the Tars improved their record to 16-5 overall and 9-2 in the conference.
"Both games were a really good team effort and we work really hard on offense and defense. We took care of both teams on the defensive end and we let our offense come to us," said freshman Greg Sweeney of the Tars effort. The Tars step travel to Lynn on Saturday for a huge conference matchup on Saturday. The winner of that matchup will get top honors in the top conference. The Tars will return to the confines of the Alfond Sports Center on February 15th to face conference rival Tampa.